WCP146

[1]

Old Orchard,

Broadstone,

Wimborne

April 20th. 1910

My dear Will¹

A few events have eventuated since you left. On Saturday, came a big mail from Australia — a letter & package of papers from Sydney, and 2 packages from Brisbane — one paper, which turned out to be official advertisement Tourist & Immigration Department, about Sheep farming, Darying, Sugar making, Fruit growing &c. also R^y [Railway] Time tables, Photos, Maps, &c. &c. &c. all the information for an intending settler — the other, a small, oblong, hard, heavy, package — ^which I hastily took to be Opals, but ^it turned out to be about 100 Picture post cards from Queensland [2] mostly rubbish! So I finished a 16 page letter to Skertchly² — finished it with — "Did not the Psalmist say — ‘Put not they trust in — Colonels!" — waited till Monday, then posted it.

Yesterday (Tuesday) 11.30 — the Opals came!! A cardboard box about 4 inches cube. Contents — 9 small chucks of rock all of different colour & material, & all showing specks, patches, or films of various opalescent material — each wrapped in paper in lots of cotton-wool — Also one small bottle — 2 ½" x 1 ½ " — full of small chunks a little smaller than the rough-cast material on cottage — in water apparently, well sealed, & [3] all showing various opaline lustre — No names to the rocks, or any word of writing. As I find the Mail goes out on Friday, I shall write tomorrow to S—- & to Col. Sankey,³ thanking them for the specimens. They seem to me a very common garden lot, but after dinner in a good light, Ma⁴ examined them, & formed endless beauties on a small scale. They want very good light and turning about in every direction to see all that is in them; and there are 2 or 3 which if ground down & polished would I think make very decent stones for pins, brooches, &c. In a bad light most of them [4] look like greyish or yellowish flints, — or flint & ironstone mixed, but a good light brings out the opalescence in several places.

Mr. Cramp’s house seems very nice, & he is very lucky to get such a place so near Oxford. You do not tell us how much he has for his fowls. From the accounts of Queensland I have now got, I should say there are districts in the mountains near that beat California or Colorado for health & as a delightful place of residence. For fruit it is imsurpassable and such fruit tree (apple, peach, &c,) after about 4 years gives a profit of about £1- a year. If the poultry does not pay in England, I think Queensland might do for him & you, and I dare say in a year or two Ma & Violet would join you.

Your affect^te Pa | A.R. Wallace [signature]